Capping head for bottle capping machines



July 20, 1954 N. v. BURDIN 2,684,192

CAPPING HEAD FOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES Filed Feb. 28, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR:

* NELSONV. BURDIN.

PEP

July 20, 1 954 v, BURD|N 2,684,192

CAPPING HEAD FOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES Filed Feb. 28, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 '9 5Q lNVENTORQ FIG.3. NELSON V.BuRD-|N.

QPER e ATTORNEY- y 0, 1954 N. v. BURDIN 84,192

CAPPING HEAD FOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES Filed Feb. 28, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR: NELSON V. BURDIN.

ATTORNEY Patented July 20, 1 954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAPPING HEAD FOR BOTTLE OAPEING MACHINES Application- February 28, 1949, Serial No. 78,694

(Cl. 226--8il) 1 Claim.

ihe present invention relates to bottle capping machines of the type embodying a resilient member which is distorted to effect the crimping of the cap in capping the bottles with aluminium or the like foil, and has for its object to provide an improved and simplified construction of capping head.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section of a bottle capping machine according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale of the capping head.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and

Figures 4 and 5 are views in elevation of the capping head showing the foil clamping and waste foil cutting mechanisms respectively.

In carrying the present invention into prac" tice as shown upon the accompanying drawings, the body member of the capping head consists of a block 6 secured to the machine frame I, said block 3 being provided with a vertical bore and provided near its lower end with a relatively wide horizontal slot 8 whose plane lies at right angles to theaxis of the vertical bore.

A sleeve 9 is slidably disposed in said vertical bore which is provided at its lower edge with an inwardly directedlflanged portion l 0, said flanged portion l being tapered internally at its lower edge to form a cutting edgeor punch l l, the internal taper forming a lead for the bottle top, said cutting edge ll being adapted to cut discs from strip foil l2 fed through the beforelnentioned slot 8 in the blockfi.

Surrounding the sleeve .9 and contained within the slot 8 is airing l3. adapted to clamp the strip foil 12 against a part I4 carried by the lower part of the body member whilst a disc is being cut therefrom'by means of the aforesaid punch l l.

Positioned within the sleeve 9 and resting on the inwardly directedflange l0 thereof is a resilient ring Id of rubber or the like suitable material upon which ring rests a second slidable sleeve I! co -axially disposed within the sleeve 9.

In operation the strip foil I2 is fed through the slot 3 in the body member 6 between the ring it and part M for example by means of the feeding head Ill described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 78,693, a patent has now been granted and numbered 2,621,842. By means of cam operated levers l9 engaging horizonta1 grooves formed in the beforementioned clamping ring I3, Figure 4, the latter is operated in a downward direction to clamp the foil I2 against the part I4 2 carried by the lower-portion 15 of the body memher 6.

The levers It are operated by cams 2| which are mounted on the shaft 22, which shaft is driven by the rack and pinion mechanism 23, 24. The rack 24 is formed on the follower 25 for the cam 26 mounted on the cam shaft 2! of the machine, Figure 1.

The application of pressure to the sleeve l"! is effected by means of the beam 28 having a bifurcated end 29 which bears upon the cap 30 of the sleeve I1, said beam 28 at its other end 3! being operated by spring mechanism which is generally designated 32 and is in accordance with my co-pending application Ser. No. 78,693.

When pressure is applied to the cap 30 of the innermost sleeve I! which by means of the resilient-ring l 6 and flange Ill on the outer sleeve 9, causes the latter to descend and cut a disc from the strip foil I2, said disc after cutting, resting on a flanged portion 33 of a lead 34 for the bottle top. On insertion of a bottle into the opening 35 at the lower end of the body part, said bottle carries with it the previously cut metal foil disc up within the capping head, so that the top of the bottle and the foil cap lie within the plane contained by the resilient ring 15. In passing up into the capping head the foil disc is wrapped around the bottle top by the internally tapered portion 36 of the sleeve 9 hereinbefore referred to, by causing the overlapping portion of the disc to lie against the bottle neck.

Further pressure on the innermost sleeve l1 causes the resilient ring IE to be distorted and crimp the foil cap around the top of the bottle, further downward movement of the sleeve 9 being prevented at this stage by means of an outwardly directed flange 31 formed at the top edge thereof bearing against the top of the block 6. Upon release of the pressure on the resilient ring It the latter assumesits normal shape and the bottle top is then free to be withdrawn from the capping head.

Suitable return plungers 38 Figure 4 are mounted in the block 6 and are spring loaded so as to engage the outwardly directed flange 3! at the top of the sleeve 9 so as to return same and the innermost sleeve l l to their inoperative posi-- tions after the capping head operating mechanism has ceased to exert pressure on the cap 3 of said innermost sleeve ll.

In order to clamp the disc cut from the foil I 2 on the bottle top and thus prevent displacement during the wrapping operation which follows and also provide checking means to ensure that a bottle is inserted the required distance into the capping head for capping purposes, there is provided a plunger 39 disposed within the inner-. most sleeve i7, said plunger 39 taking a bearing in the cap provided at the upper end of the sleeve I1.

A bearing member is also secured to the plunger 39 within said sleve ll, said member 99 being a sliding fit in said sleeve H and engaging the lower end of a compression spring 41, contained within that part of the sleeve 1! defined by said bearing member 40 and cap 30. In this manner the plunger 39 is spring loaded within the sleeve I! and retained in its normal position by a transverse pin 42 or the like abutment formed on the plunger 39, which pin normally abuts the top of the said cap 30.

Universally pivoted to the lower end of said plunger 39 is a disc 93 which is surfaced at its underside with a resilient or other suitable material 45, said disc 3-3 being adapted to engage the top of the bottle inserted into the capping head and take up the alignment thereof. The pivotal mounting of the disc 93 is such that it pivots about a centre lying in the plane of contact between the resilient underside M, and a bottle top, so that the minimum of side displacement of the disc 43 with respect to the bottle occurs during the aligning action; which displacement, if great, would cause excessive displacement of the foil with respect to the bottle top. In this way the disc 43 is adapted to firmly and uniformly engage bottles having uneven tops such as is often the case with commercial bottles.

Upon a bottle being inserted into the capping head the bottle top first contacts a portion of foil therein and pushes same further into the capping head. Whilst the portion of foil is be-.

ing pushed further into the capping head it is held firmly on the bottle top by means of the aforesaid disc 93 and the spring loading of the plunger 39 carrying the disc 43. Thus the portion of foil is firmly held on the bottle top whilst it is wrapped about the bottle neck and subsequently crimped thereon.

The plunger 39 and disc 43 may also serve as means to check the position of the bottle top in the capping head and for this purpose the upper exterior end of the plunger 39 is arranged to bear against a lever 99 mounted on a shaft :25 (Figures 1 and 2). This lever 53 is preferably spring loaded by a co-axial torsion spring 36 against the plunger 39 and in addition to operating against a stop t? so as to limit the movement of said plunger 39, also operates through the bell crank lever 48 pivoted on the machine frame, a rod 49 adapted to trip a control lever 69 carried by a clutch 59, which clutch controls the drive to the cam shaft 27. The clutch 50 is of the type in which the control lever 59 is spring loaded to maintain the clutch engaged, and when said clutch is engaged the lever 69 rotates with same, but upon the lever being tripped the clutch is disengaged and the lever held stationary.

When a bottle is inserted into the capping head the rod 49 is raised to allow the control lever 59 to pass underneath said rod and so maintain the drive. However, if a bottle is not present in the capping head or not fully inserted therein the rod 39 is not raised so that the clutch control lever 50 is tripped and the drive to the machine ceases.

The disposition of the control lever on the clutch is such that when a bottle is fully inserted in the capping head, said lever passes under the raised rod 49. Thus after the insertion of the last bottle into the capping head, the machine would continue to operate in readiness for a further bottle, but in the event of no further bottle being inserted into the capping head the machine then stops.

In order to assist in the disposal of the perforated foil as waste, as it issues from the capping head a pair of cutters 5|, 52, are provided. One cutter 5! is fixedly mounted on the lower part i5 (Figure 5) of the body member or may be carried by the machine frame '5 whilst the other cutter 52, is pivotally mounted on an extension 53 of the cutter 5i and provided with an arm 59 having a slot 55 therein, which slot 55 is engaged by a pin 56 carried by an arm 5'5 fast with the beforementioned shaft 22. Thus each time foil is fed through the capping head the perforated waste foil issuing therefrom is out off, the cut off waste foil falling into a suitable receptacle or the like therefor.

I claim:

Improvements in capping heads for bottle capping machines, having combined therewith foil feeding mechanism, comprising in combination, a body part, an outer sleeve slidably mounted in said body part having a cutting edge at one end thereof, an inner sleeve concentric with the before-mentioned sleeve, an abutment on the interior of the outer sleeve, a resilient ring located on said abutment which is adapted to be compressed by the inner sleeve for crimping the foil disc on a bottle top, a clamping ring for clamping the foil during the foil cutting operation, levers pivotally mounted on said body part and connected to said clamping ring, cam memberg rotatably mounted on said body part and operating said levers through a rack and pinion mechanism, a driving shaft for the machine, a cam member on said driving shaft to operate said rack and pinion mechanism in timed relationship with the foil feeding mechanism and means for applying pressure to the inner and outer sleeves to effect the foil cutting and crimping operations.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 384,532 Knowlton June 12, 1888 395,211 Breul Dec. 25, 1888 759,070 Bradley May 3, 1904 1,011,630 Lassen Dec. 12, 1911 1,016,547 Cahill Feb. 6, 1912 1,081,931 Rosengren Dec. 16, 1913 1,657,556 Smith Jan. 31, 1928 1,956,214 Booth Apr. 24, 1934 1,986,505 Fischer Jan. 1, 1935 2,190,509 Baum Feb. 13, 1940 2,371,334 Jonsson Mar. 13, 1945 2,431,114 Golding Nov. 18, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 140,202 Austria Jan. 10, 1935 286,051 Germany July 21, 1915 449,307 France Dec. 20, 1912 711,530 Germany Oct. 2, 1941 

